Is OneFamily any good?

Our customers certainly seem to think so!

The fact that they've rated us "Excellent" on Trustpilot and awarded us 4.5 stars is only part of the story.

As a member-owned mutual society, we want to know who our customers are, why they chose us and what their dreams for the future are!

Some of our customers have even shared their stories with us and with the press. Find out what they have to say below.

Our Lifetime ISA customers

With a 25% government bonus on everything you save or invest for a first home, lifetime ISAs are a fast-track ticket to homeownership.

Read about our lifetime ISA customers, what motivated them to start saving for a first home, how they're staying on track and what their plans for the future are.

"I’m training to be a nurse, and my lifetime ISA will help me buy a home after I graduate"

Erin Hadley

Erin Hadley, a 19-year-old student nurse, has a OneFamily Lifetime ISA which she’ll put towards buying a home after she graduates.

She grew up in Grimsby and now lives in Manchester where she is studying for a degree in Adult Nursing. Her mum encouraged her to set up a lifetime ISA to make the most of the free government bonus of up to £1,000 every tax year and has put in lump sums of money from her child trust fund.

Read Erin's story

My mum helped me open my lifetime ISA a couple of weeks after I turned 18. I’d had a child trust fund account which my family had been adding to for years. When I was able to access the money, my mum said it was a good idea to put it into a LISA. I didn’t know much about them at the time, but now I’m glad I have one and have managed to get the free bonus.

Because I had the money from the child trust fund, I’ve been able to put lump sums into my LISA and max it out for the last two years. I’ve also used some of the savings from the child trust fund to enjoy myself. My friend and I went travelling around Italy last year and visited Rome and Venice. Then, earlier this year, I had a holiday in Sunny Beach, Bulgaria.

At the moment I’m a student so I don’t have much money to save, which is why it’s been useful to have the lump sums of money to put aside for when I need it after I finish university. I’m now in my second year and live with five friends in a student house. I think talking about money is a bit of a taboo amongst younger people. At this age, you don’t want to be thinking about the big wide world, you just want to enjoy what you’ve currently got going on – it’s almost like ignorant bliss.

But if we did start talking about it, I’d say that I think LISAs are a really good investment in your future. I like to think I’m financially responsible and it’s good to have a sum of money to put away that you can’t touch, rather than having it sat in your bank account which is tempting to take money out of. Of course, it’s nice to have money to spend on things like clothes but it’s also good to have some to put towards the future.

I’m planning on buying a property after I finish university. Ideally, I’d like to stay in Manchester, but it just depends on where I can get a job within the NHS. I wanted to get into nursing because my Nana had dementia and that inspired me to do it. I enjoy being on placement and I’ve worked across several departments already, but I’d really like to go into A&E. I have also thought about living abroad for a little while, and if I did that I would continue saving and buy when I come back to the UK.

I’ll look at buying after I finish studying to become a nurse. It’s difficult to look into the future and know exactly what type of property I’ll want and where I’ll want to be, but it’s good to know when the time comes, I will have some savings there.

Featured in:

The Express

MSN.com

"We decided we didn’t want to rent forever and would buy our own home"

Stanley Fulker

Stanley Fulker, a 27-year-old gardener living in Sussex, has a OneFamily Lifetime ISA which he’ll use to buy a home with his girlfriend, Abbie.

The couple live with Abbie’s parents after they unexpectedly had to leave their rented flat. They are now saving as much money as possible to max out the LISA bonus.

Read Stanley's story

I opened my lifetime ISA in 2021 and it’s really helping me build up savings for our first home, I think it’s a fantastic way to save for a house. It offers a beacon of hope to getting on the property ladder, especially with the 25% bonus, which can mean up to an extra £1,000 a year.

When I was renting, I felt like I was giving someone else all my money. So, we decided we didn’t want to rent forever and would buy our own home. I want to have our own place where we can put pictures up, paint the walls and make it ours.

Abbie and I were previously living in a flat together, but the landlord said they needed the property back and we had two months to move out. We now live with Abbie’s family and, although we are paying for rent, bills and food, we’re still able to save much more than if we were renting privately. We’re each putting aside about £333 per month, which will help us reach the maximum limit of £4,000 for the year and get the free bonus of £1,000 each.

We don’t know exactly what type of property we want yet but I want it to have a garage. Abbie wants a disco floor, so if we had a spare room we’d put in some Saturday Night Fever style lights in.

Ideally, we’d like to buy a house within the next five years, but we’ll have to see what happens and how much everything costs.

Featured in:

IFA magazine

Property Reporter

"I think lifetime ISAs are brilliant and there’s no better way to save for a house"

Katie Oliphant

Katie Oliphant, a 26-year-old HR coordinator living in Cambridge, has a OneFamily Lifetime ISA. She and her partner Cormac each have an account and are saving for a deposit to buy their first home. Katie says the lifetime ISA is a “brilliant” way to save and setting it up was a “no brainer” due to the free bonus.

Read Katie's story

I opened my lifetime ISA in 2019 and have since managed to save more than £19,000, including the free government bonus. My dad encouraged me to set up my account and I’m so glad I did as it will make a huge difference to me and my future when the time comes to buy a house. I initially put some money in after a trip I’d saved up for fell through because of Covid. I then set up a direct debit, but recently cancelled it because everyday costs have gone up and my budget is tighter.

I think lifetime ISAs are brilliant and there’s no better way to save for a house – you are given free money from the government, so to me it’s a no brainer.

I’m currently living in a rented flat in Cambridge with my partner, Cormac. Shortly after we first moved in together, I encouraged him to get a lifetime ISA, too. He also opened one with OneFamily and so we’re both saving for our first home, which we hope to buy within the next five years.

Once we are able to buy, we’d like a three-bed house in Cambridgeshire, Hertfordshire or somewhere else with good transport links into London. When I reach my thirties we may want to start a family, so ideally we’d like a homely property in a residential area with parking and a garden. We wouldn’t be able to afford to buy that in the city centre, but we enjoy living here at the moment, so for now we will continue renting and saving.

Having the lifetime ISA really has helped me save and will help Cormac and I buy our first home. I’d definitely recommend the lifetime ISA to people looking to get on the property ladder.

Featured in:

"I’m saving into a lifetime ISA and will use the free government bonus to get an extra holiday "

Joe Farmer

Joe Farmer explains why he and his wife Rachel each took out a OneFamily Lifetime ISA to tick off their bucket list when they retire, and how they will use the free government bonus to get an extra holiday. Joe, who is 34 and works in business assurance, and Rachel, a 34-year-old teacher, recently celebrated their first wedding anniversary and live in South Gloucestershire with their two-year-old son Finn and their cat Nala.

Read Joe's story

Myself and my wife Rachel each opened a Lifetime ISA with OneFamily four years ago. We wanted these saving pots to be separate to our pensions, to build up a fund that we can use to travel the world when we retire.

We knew lifetime ISAs can be used only to either buy your first property or save for retirement. Rachel and I were already on the property ladder, but as the government tops up an extra 25% every time you save, we decided this would be good to have alongside our pension pot for later in life.

As a family, we really enjoy travelling and we recently went to Australia. Finn had an amazing time as he absolutely loves the beach. Rachel and I are looking forward to being able use the money we save, as well as the government bonus, to visit places we’ve always wanted to go to. So far, Japan and Nashville are at the top of our list, and we also want to visit Jordan to see Petra.

We each pay into our lifetime ISA accounts by direct debit every month. When we first opened our accounts, we each put in £25 per month, which we increased to £30 after three years. We don’t have a specific target amount at the moment, and we are just saving what we can. We plan to continue to save £30 a month each up to age 50, but we won’t be able to withdraw the money without penalty until we’re 60. By this time, we will have received a free government bonus of around £3,500, which is enough for us to go on at least one more extra trip.

We live in between my family and Rachel’s family, which is really helpful when it comes to looking after Finn. We may consider moving at some point, depending on schools, but at the moment we are really happy with the area. I work hybrid and go into the office twice a week which is handy when you are looking after a young child and changing nappies! Rachel works as a teacher; she’s been working part-time since being on maternity leave and is going back to full-time in September.

I definitely see having a lifetime ISA as a positive thing, especially as it adds up for some brilliant trips. We like having a savings account for retirement that is completely separate to our pension. It’s great to have the bonus on top of our contributions and we’re really looking forward to all the travelling this will allow us to do in retirement.